Getting breast implants is exciting. The decision to undergo breast augmentation surgery is one that’s usually made after months, or even years, of thinking about it. In most cases, women enjoy their results for many years. Occasionally, however, we see women who need breast augmentation revision surgery at our Denver practice.
The reasons vary as to why someone may need or want revision surgery after a previous breast augmentation procedure. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at those reasons, briefly describe what the procedure involves, and explain why it’s important to choose a breast augmentation specialist to perform the revision surgery.
Why Get Revision Surgery?
Breast implants are not designed to last for a lifetime, so at some point, many women who have been happy with their results will end up getting breast augmentation revision surgery to replace older implants. Other reasons you may need a revision procedure include:
Complications Causing Discomfort or Pain
The most common complication involves the scar tissue that naturally forms around the implant after breast augmentation surgery. With this complication, called capsular contracture, the scar capsule around the implant tightens and hardens. In mild cases, implant movement is limited, and the implant may begin to look unnatural. More severe occurrences can be painful.
In some cases, capsular contracture can change the shape or position of the breast, making implants appear overly firm, asymmetrical, or misshapen. Breast revision surgery removes the hardened scar tissue and restores a softer, more natural-looking result.
Other potential complications that may require breast revision surgery include implant rippling, implant rupture, changes in breast symmetry or position over time, and very rare complications such as breast implant illness and breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).
Implants Need To Be Repositioned
Implants sometimes slide too low on the breasts, below the natural fold, creating an unnatural appearance called “double bubble.” In other cases, implants may have been incorrectly placed during the first surgery and need to be moved. These are relatively rare complications that require revision surgery to correct.
Implant malposition can occur gradually over time or develop soon after surgery due to healing issues, implant size, or tissue weakness. Revision surgery allows your surgeon to correct the implant pocket and restore better balance, symmetry, and breast contours.
A Desire To Upgrade
Wanting to upgrade to newer, more advanced breast implants is especially common for women who want to switch from saline implants to silicone gel implants, as silicone implants tend to look more natural. More recently, many women want to change out their older-generation silicone implants for the advanced and innovative Motiva® breast implants, which offer increased safety features, a softer feel, more natural movement, and improved durability.
Some women also choose revision surgery to update the size, shape, or profile of their implants as their preferences and lifestyle evolve over time.
Replacing a Ruptured Implant
Ruptured saline implants are immediately noticeable because the breast looks deflated. Silicone cohesive gel implants are less prone to cracking or rupturing, and you may not even know it until it’s detected during a routine MRI exam.
Even when a silicone implant rupture does not cause obvious symptoms, replacing the implant is generally recommended to maintain the appearance and integrity of the breasts. Routine monitoring and imaging can help detect silent ruptures before they lead to more noticeable changes.
Wanting a Different Implant Size
It’s natural for patients to feel differently about implant size years after their original breast augmentation. Changes related to aging, pregnancy, weight fluctuations, or personal style preferences may lead them to choose either a larger or smaller implant during revision surgery.
We offer VECTRA® 3D imaging to give patients a realistic idea of how they’ll look with different sizes of implants, but not all practices have a 3D imaging system.
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Other Reasons for Revision Surgery
In some cases, women who have already had breast augmentation develop “boob greed.” We discourage patients from getting excessively large implants that we know, based on our expertise, won’t provide the desired aesthetic outcome.
As we wrote in a previous post: “A patient will make a poor implant size choice when she ignores her true wants and needs in the beginning of the sizing process. When a patient allows other opinions around implant size to determine her final choice, the result never ends well. We are in the business of helping women feel better about themselves.”
Choose Your Surgeon Carefully
Breast revision surgery is more complicated than the initial breast augmentation procedure, partly because of the presence of scar tissue. So, it’s important that patients find the best-qualified breast augmentation specialist available. At our Denver practice, all of our plastic surgeons are experienced and highly trained in breast surgeries. Review their online photo gallery to see actual patients before & after revision breast surgery.
If you think you may want or need breast augmentation revision surgery and are looking in the Denver area for a surgeon, request a consultation or call us at (303) 278-2600 to set up an appointment.
This blog was originally published in 2018 and updated in May 2026.
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